clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Arizona Wildcats prepare to take on UTSA Roadrunners

Both teams are coming off convincing Week 1 victories. As the calendar turns to September, will the Wildcats be able to withstand a potential roadblock on their way to Pac-12 Conference play?

Christian Petersen

Arizona Wildcats (1-0) vs. Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners (1-0)

Thursday, September 4, 2014: 8:00 p.m. EST at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

There will be a "Orange Out" in Texas on Thursday night for a national audience, but the Arizona Wildcats will be looking to crush the orange, rather than be engulfed by it.

Playing at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Wildcats fans are hoping that they will not have to remember the Alamo, in the unlikely case of a massive upset loss.  On the back of their newfound running game, there should be no concern.

Both Terris Jones-Grigsby and Nick Wilson torched an under-manned UNLV defense last Friday night in Tucson.  Just six days later, the fresh legs of the lethal running back duo should be able to carry them to victory.

If the running game does not completely take the Roadrunners out of it, there is dual-threat, big man on campus, Anu Solomon.  After passing for 425 yards against a Mountain West defense, Solomon will be salivating as he has his array of weapons now lined up against a Conference USA opponent.

Last week's ESPN late-night showcase was just the tip of the iceberg as the Wildcats are now headed to Fox Sports 1 for their matchup in primetime with UTSA on Thursday.  For the high octane Arizona offense and their head coach, it will be a chance to show off how far they have come.

Now, where do the Roadrunners play into all of this?  After all, this is a Division-I program; nothing can be taken for granted.  Week 1 of the season saw UTSA defeat the once mighty Houston Cougars in their own house by a final of 27-7.  Not to mention, the seven the Cougars did get came with just nearly a minute left in the contest as a garbage time score.

Big deal, their defense shut out Houston, right?  Well, they also forced four interceptions.  And two fumbles.  Meaning, the Roadrunners did not allow a score for the first 59 minutes of the game while forcing six turnovers.  Against anyone those are impressive statistics.

Much in the same way the Wildcats used two backs last week to pummel a scuffling Runnin' Rebels defense, the Roadrunners used both senior David Glasco II and sophomore Jarveon Williams to slice the Cougars.

Methodical pounding the ball all game long, Glasco II and Williams would combine for 37 carries and 135 rushing, with the longest individual rush coming from Glasco II for 14 yards.

Glasco II would reach the endzone twice, while his teammate Williams would get in once-accounting for all three of the Roadrunner touchdowns.  A team that will grind the attempted pace of the Wildcats to a halt just may be the formula that could topple the boys from Tucson.

Yet, this is an offense that is coming off a record-setting week.  Never in the history of the University of Arizona football program has another team produced so many yards from scrimmage in a single game.  All the weapons are there, the scheme is there, and it seems that the personnel is there.

Be sure to tune in Thursday night on Fox Sports 1 as the Wildcats attempt to match, or even top their performance from last week.  The country will be watching.